The answer to, and winner (if any) for, our last contest question of:This actor danced from London to Norwich. And the year after, wrote an account of it. Name him.ISWill Kemp morris / danced from London to Norwich. He was an actor, jester and friend of William Shakespeare. Legend says he undertook the journey…Continue

Just about a year ago to the day (give or take less than a week) the world saw an auction of an artists possessions that garnered a little under one half of a BILLION dollars. Yes BILLION with a "B". And this, as you remember was during the year when everyone had lost their money and banks were being bailed out. This was the largest auction of any private individual ever seen. Name the artist. Good…

The answer to, and winner (if any) for, our last contest question of:This artist spent just about 50 years on two DOORS! (or two sets of doors). Name the artist.ISLorenzo Ghiberti for the Baptistry of Florence.…Continue

TEN Plus TIPS FOR MUSICIANS 1 Try to stand out, not fit in. Your goal should not be to sound like everyone else. If you are not doing something that is the world's first in music - then ask yourself, "Why not? Show some courage. Do something new. Find your own…

The answer to, and winner (if any) for, our last contest question of:This English fair began in 1133, and it was such fun, and such a big hit that they kept it going each year for, oh, say, 722 years! Name it.ISBartholomew Fair, held in West Smithfield, London.Fo/mo/info…Continue

The answer to, and winner (if any) for, our last contest question of: OK Let's see how you do on this one. It's the most common word in the world. Name it.ISOK. I even gave you the answer in the question!We STILL had no correct answers. For more on "OK", the big world…

just finished mélange #2. can't believe how much energy i've put into this one. it's nothing like what i pictured when i first started, and i'm tickled by what this might say about how the "creative process" works. thinking about where my head has been while making it is making me feel very tired. gonna sit on it for a bit, clear my mind. hope to have it in print and circulating in a couple of… Continue

Rocco Landesman, the Chairman of the NEA, National Endowments for the arts, was a guest on the Diane Rehm Show 1/25/10. The guest host was Susan Page. I emailed a comment, Page read it, and Landesman answered it. Here's the exchange

Susan Page: Here is a question you may like less well. It's from Tom... It's an email from Tom Hendricks who identifies himself as the editor of the web magazine Musea and he says,

This giant hit song was the first real smash to use the pitch correction software. Name it. Good Luck!

IS
Cher's 1998 mega hit "Believe". It sold over 10 million, hit number one on the charts and made her the oldest female artist at 52 to reach #1.
She didn't need the pitch correction or auto tune, but when the bonehead record execs wanted her to dump the cool effect, she refused. Sadly… Continue

Gustav Holst composed a suite for the Planets. I think I'll do my version (for the sake of this question). In my version I am going to arrange the pieces in the order of each planet's discovery. The first five planets
are the ones the ancients knew: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
I'm done with those five parts of my suite. Now the question is, 'What planet is next in my musical… Continue

By doing nothing you, reader, support the status quo. You encourage the bad radio and the generic rock on it, you encourage more formula TV and sequel films, you block any change in theater, dance, or the visual arts, you prevent fair reviews for all artists, and keep at bay just about any thing progressive in the arts. You support the worst of corporate art and oppose the best of the independent artists in every kind of… Continue